Interesting discovery

[Darryl]

A little bit. Before I got the MAVERICK, he'd use the car daily except for Sundays and Wednesday on Wednesday nights when I'd take Mother to church, it runs well but it's 24 years and has a oil leak maybe 1 qt/700 miles. Id make sure it was kept full. When I got my Maverick we rode to church in it. And my nephew drove it exclusively, I mentioned to him to add a quart and check it regularly. Anyway, I went to move the car one night and the timing chains rattled. I checked the oil and it was not touching the stick. I added a quart. It still wasn't touching. The last time he'd added oil was the time I told him. He probably put at least 50 miles daily on it. It was 3 1/2 Qts low on a 5 qt system. Thankfully no damage. He was nonchalant. Once his car was fixed, he simply parked hers. Didn't even wash it. He's not a teen, he's 52! Ok. Enough venting

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[dochawk]

But still, The Marquis doesn't handle badly at all.

All of the people that ever bought bought Crown Victorias, Grand Marquis, and the corresponding Town Car for it's handling have a meeting next week.

It's in the phone booth on 4th street . . .

I loved my '98 Crown Victoria LX. It was a great lawyers' car, and met client expectation.

It was spectacular for distance driving, but got a bit crowded with 4 kids by the time the twins were 3.

Yeah, it handled better than my '72 Impala, but handling wasn't it's purpose.

(which leads to it having been the least expensive vehicle to insure back then!)

There's a lot of mythology surrounding Police Interceptors.

There was also a Mercury Marauder sometime in the late 90s or so. A Grand Marquis with a Mustang engine and a souped up suspension.

 

[ScottyC]

Last night I drove my mother's 2001 Grand Marquis for the first time since May since it's been sitting since late July because she no longer drives, and my nephew no longer needed to borrow it. I figured she still might want to drive around the yard or to my sister's who lives behind her house. Anyway I was taken aback at how much BETTER the AWD HYBRID Maverick handles than the Grand Marquis. Part of it can be attributed to the fact that the Marquis has 265 000 miles on it. But much of it is the nature of the two vehicles. I was surprised to find that the weight difference is only 200-300 pounds . So lightweight is a relative term. So is small. The wheelbase on the Full sized Mercury is 114" But " compact" MAVERICK wheelbase is 121". However, at 211" the Grand Marquis is about a foot longer than the Maverick. I believe that largely explains the difference in handling. I believe Wheelbase and independent rear suspension make a significant difference especially when compared to the total vehicle length. What are your thoughts?

I went to an old farm auction yesterday that was conducted by the Amish....I had a coffee and a doughnut and was a successful bidder on a 30 foot drop extension cord. I has happy that I did not have to pay a buyers fee or tax on the sale. It was a nice day. I rode out in a buddies vehicle and my Maverick was parked at the mall where we met up and rode out together. We stopped for ice cream afterward.

 

[Blue_Max]

There was also a Mercury Marauder sometime in the late 90s or so. A Grand Marquis with a Mustang engine and a souped up suspension.

Model years 2003 and 2004. It used the DOHC 4.6, rated at 302 hp.

 

[CajunMick]

Does your mother car rattle? Like a dash rattle?

 

[Oscarcat]

Last night I drove my mother's 2001 Grand Marquis for the first time since May since it's been sitting since late July because she no longer drives, and my nephew no longer needed to borrow it. I figured she still might want to drive around the yard or to my sister's who lives behind her house. Anyway I was taken aback at how much BETTER the AWD HYBRID Maverick handles than the Grand Marquis. Part of it can be attributed to the fact that the Marquis has 265 000 miles on it. But much of it is the nature of the two vehicles. I was surprised to find that the weight difference is only 200-300 pounds . So lightweight is a relative term. So is small. The wheelbase on the Full sized Mercury is 114" But " compact" MAVERICK wheelbase is 121". However, at 211" the Grand Marquis is about a foot longer than the Maverick. I believe that largely explains the difference in handling. I believe Wheelbase and independent rear suspension make a significant difference especially when compared to the total vehicle length. What are your thoughts?

I would add some fuel stabilizer to the fuel, give it a wash job and sell it before the critters make a nest, trash the wiring and it becomes a metal sculpture in her yard.

My father-in-law had a 2000 Grand Marquis with rear air suspension. Nice car until the air bags failed which was after he passed and family had it. He optioned the dual exhausts but the 4.6 L still felt sluggish.

 

[Cocobean]

My thoughts? Crispy bacon and over easy eggs, ah and a cup of coffee please

I’ll take egg & cheese on a roll with home fries please

 

[Darryl]

I would add some fuel stabilizer to the fuel, give it a wash job and sell it before the critters make a nest, trash the wiring and it becomes a metal sculpture in her yard.

My father-in-law had a 2000 Grand Marquis with rear air suspension. Nice car until the air bags failed which was after he passed and family had it. He optioned the dual exhausts but the 4.6 L still felt sluggish.
[/QUOTE Selling it

I would add some fuel stabilizer to the fuel, give it a wash job and sell it before the critters make a nest, trash the wiring and it becomes a metal sculpture in her yard.

My father-in-law had a 2000 Grand Marquis with rear air suspension. Nice car until the air bags failed which was after he passed and family had it. He optioned the dual exhausts but the 4.6 L still felt sluggish.

Selling it is not an option since it's HER car and she and Dad got it when she retired. We'll probably drive it periodically on Sundays. It'll get a 60 mile workout on those occasions. It'll also remain the spare car for family members. And she can drive it to feed her dog when she doesn't feel like walking. Or she can drive it to my sister's house which is on the other end of the 8 or so acres. She just renewed her license AND got the tag renewed for 2 years . So in theory she can still drive since we live in a rural area. She simply doesn't. But she wants to know she CAN if she wants to. .IF nothing else, I think she wants to look out the front window and see it. . But I definitely will not let it sit this long again or long enough for the gas to go bad.

 

[Darryl]

All of the people that ever bought bought Crown Victorias, Grand Marquis, and the corresponding Town Car have a meeting next week.

It's in the phone booth on 4th street . . .

I loved my '98 Crown Victoria LX. It was a great lawyers' car, and met client expectation.

It was spectacular for distance driving, but got a bit crowded with 4 kids by the time the twins were 3.

Yeah, it handled better than my '72 Impala, but handling wasn't it's purpose.

(which leads to it having been the least expensive vehicle to insure back then!)



There was also a Mercury Marauder sometime in the late 90s or so. A Grand Marquis with a Mustang engine and a souped up suspension.

The Marauder didn't sell that well. It was expensive because it had so many other features. But I wonder if it would have been more successful if offered as a Crown Vic package in addition to the Marquis. I think it would have been great to have the 4 valve engine as a stand alone option. Also, it wasn't just an ordinary mustang GT engine. But was basically a somewhat detuned SVT Cobra engine. It was also used in the Lincoln aviator and Lincoln Continental front wheel drive in certain years. Again, I think it should have been an engine upgrade rather than an entire package.

 

[Escapologist]

Maybe also a case of "how many hotted up saloons do you expect one enthusiast to buy?" since the Contour SVT and Taurus SHO had been pretty recent.

 

[Darryl]

Does your mother car rattle? Like a dash rattle?

No, it doesn't. I consider that a remarkable feat given that it is 24 years old with over 260,000 MI. It's obviously well worn. But no strange noises

 

[matmondro]

Not totally surprised at the handling differences between the two. Someone else mentioned it and I have to agree, "new cars handle better, but old cars ride better." The body-on-frame nature of the Panther Platform does make it a tough vehicle (hence why it was the most prolific taxi and police interceptor of its day), but some handling characteristics will be compromised as a result. Generally, unibody vehicles are always going to handle better than BOF. The Panther Platform also has more mass spread out/overhanging each axle, while the Maverick does not by having each wheel closer to each corner. This is the same reason why hot hatches, go-karts, and modern-day sports cars handle so well.

The Panther Platform IMO is probably the best all-around vehicle Ford has ever made though. Love the Marauder too. When I was growing up my parents had two of them. The first was a 2004 in Dark Toredor Red with Flint Grey interior, then a few years later they bought a 2003 in Dark Blue Pearl (if you know about Marauders, you know...) with Dark Charcoal interior. Would like to buy a blue one of my own someday!

 

[matmondro]

When I was a junior and senior in high school a neighbor lady would pay me to go pick up her elderly mother and take her to the grocery. Part of the deal was I had to drive her 64 Maurader 10 miles at least. So I would take her to the Kroger 8 miles away. It looked similar to this one and floated on air as I remember.

That sounds like a great deal!! Lol.

But how funny, my brother picked up essentially that same car this spring. 1964 Park Lane Marauder, 390FE with the 3-speed "Merc-o-Matic" transmission. He's planning on swapping a 4-speed top-loader into it this winter.

 

[Suzukiridr14]

A little bit. Before I got the MAVERICK, he'd use the car daily except for Sundays and Wednesday on Wednesday nights when I'd take Mother to church, it runs well but it's 24 years and has a oil leak maybe 1 qt/700 miles. Id make sure it was kept full. When I got my Maverick we rode to church in it. And my nephew drove it exclusively, I mentioned to him to add a quart and check it regularly. Anyway, I went to move the car one night and the timing chains rattled. I checked the oil and it was not touching the stick. I added a quart. It still wasn't touching. The last time he'd added oil was the time I told him. He probably put at least 50 miles daily on it. It was 3 1/2 Qts low on a 5 qt system. Thankfully no damage. He was nonchalant. Once his car was fixed, he simply parked hers. Didn't even wash it. He's not a teen, he's 52! Ok. Enough venting

The old saying, "Nobody takes care of your things like you do" I am very careful what I lend out, and to who!

 

[CajunMick]

No, it doesn't. I consider that a remarkable feat given that it is 24 years old with over 260,000 MI. It's obviously well worn. But no strange noises

i have benefited of older vehicles of the 60/70 era, most were body on frame, and usually no rattles. Better built, IMHO, than of the unibody styles. But I must confess few years ago found a barn car, purchased a 66 Chevy Corvair, did minor restoration, a unibody design, and when driven, no rattles. Of course, it’s interior trim mostly of metal, rather than plastic. Plastics moves the world, but has its limitation. And can be noisy in certain assemblies.

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